Portland Man Convicted of Drug Charge

Contact: David B. Joyce
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  Acting United States Attorney Richard W. Murphy announced that Mustafa Hassan, 34, of Portland, Maine was convicted yesterday following a jury trial in U.S. District Court of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and 28 grams or more of cocaine base, commonly known as crack. 

Court records and trial evidence revealed that between January 2016 and March 2016, Hassan, Nelson Calderon, and others trafficked in cocaine and crack in southern Maine.  The two men were arrested on March 6, 2016, as law enforcement interrupted a pending drug transaction.  A subsequent search warrant at Calderon’s residence revealed about 160 grams of crack and about 460 grams of cocaine. 

Hassan faces between five and forty years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000,000.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.  On November 21, 2016, Calderon entered a guilty plea to the drug conspiracy charge.  He awaits sentencing.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) in conjunction with the Southern Maine Gang Task Force, which is comprised of agents and officers from the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the DEA; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; and the Portland, South Portland, and Lewiston Police Departments.